IRPTC was established by UNEP in 1976. Its central unit, known as the Programming Activity Centre, was set up in Geneva. After UNCED in 1992, IRPTC also became part of a newly established UNEP programme on toxic chemicals and waste management. One of IRPTC's key activities is the development of data profiles on chemical substances (including information on regulatory controls). Information is also available on recommended disposal methods for individual products and IRPTC provides a query-response service.
The following is a summary of paper received from the UNEP Secretariat to the Basel Convention.
The Basel Convention is first and foremost a
global environmental treaty that strictly regulates the transboundary
movements of hazardous wastes and makes obligations on parties for
ensuring the environmentally sound management and disposal of
hazardous wastes.
The convention recognizes that the most effective way of protecting
human health and the environment from the danger posed by such wastes
is the reduction of their generation to a minimum in terms of
quantity and/or hazard potential. This, together with the
environmentally sound management of the hazardous wastes nonetheless
generated, is the underlying philosophy behind the objectives set in
the Convention. In this respect, the Basel Convention stipulates
three main interdependent and mutually supportive goals that have to
be fulfilled:
Recognizing the increasing desire and demand of
the international community for the prohibition of transboundary
movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal, especially in
developing countries, the second meeting of the Conference of the
Parties, held from 21 to 25 March 1994 in Geneva, less than two years
after the entry into force of the Convention (May 1992), adopted a
decision establishing the immediate prohibition of all transboundary
movements of hazardous wastes which are destined for final disposal
from OECD to non-OECD countries.
The transboundary movement of hazardous wastes
destined for recycling or recovery operations is to be phased out by
31 December 1997 and prohibited as from that date. This transitional
period has been seen as necessary to enable those concerned with such
movements to take appropriate measures consistent with the
environmentally sound management of wastes.
At its second meeting the Conference of the Parties
adopted 27 decisions which constitute a comprehensive work programme
in the sphere of the environmentally sound management of hazardous
wastes and which contain legal, technical and financial components
that are essential for the effective and efficient implementation of
the Basel Convention. The mandate of the Legal Working Group was
extended in order to finalize its work on a protocol on liability and
compensation to be submitted to the next meeting of the Conference of
the Parties scheduled for September 1995. The conference adopted a
manual to facilitate the implementation of the convention and a
strategy to prevent and monitor illegal traffic in hazardous wastes.
The parties have also accepted a model national legislation in order
to assist parties and non-parties to revise their national
legislation in relation to the management of hazardous waste.
Decisions were taken to pursue the selection of
sites for the establishment of regional centres for training and
technology transfer regarding the management of hazardous wastes and
the minimization of their generation, and on assisting parties to
develop training programmes on the implementation of the convention
and the environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes. One of
the main tasks of the secretariat is to cooperate with, assist and
respond to the needs of the parties in the implementation of the
convention and of the decisions adopted by the meetings of the
Conference of the Parties. In view of the fact that the
implementation of the convention and its supporting decisions also
have an impact on countries that are not Party to the Convention, the
secretariat plays an active role in assisting them or by providing
information or guidance on the environmentally sound management of
hazardous wastes and its related institutional and legal
requirements.
By H. R. Rathor, Regional Adviser, Chemical Safety and Vector Biology and Control, WHO/EMRO, Cairo, Egypt
WHO publishes health and safety guides that
contain data for individual products. These guides are very useful as
reference material when organizing disposal operations.
A special report was presented by Mr. Rathor,
Regional Advisor on Chemical Safety and Vector Biology and Control,
at the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region Regional Office (WHO/EMRO).
In his presentation, Mr Rathor, provided some examples of obsolete
stocks in the Sudan, Yemen and Pakistan.
It was emphasized that most developing countries do
not have the technical and financial resources to arrange for
shipment to a dedicated hazardous waste incinerator in a developed
country. In this connection, Mr. Rathor stressed the importance of
conducting analysis before declaring pesticides obsolete. Products
may not have completely lost their efficacy and may still be usable.
For instance, old stocks of DDT, malathion and fenitrothion could
possibly still be used for public health programmes if analysis would
confirm that they are still safe and usable, even at reduced
efficacy1. Use of such pesticides would make great savings
on expensive disposal operations and on the importation of pesticides
for public health programmes. Such analysis could be requested from a
WHO collaborating cente for pesticide analysis.
The importance of cooperation among WHO, UNEP and
FAO on this matter was underlined.
By G.E. Wyrwal, Agricultural Officer (Pesticide Information), Plant Protection Service, AGPP, FAO
The objectives of the code are to set forth
responsibilities and establish standards of conduct for all public
and private entities engaged in or effecting the distribution and use
of pesticides, particularly where there is little or no adequate
national law to regulate pesticides. The code describes the shared
responsibility of governments, industry, trade and international
institutions to work together so that the benefits obtained from the
necessary and acceptable use of pesticides are achieved without
significant adverse effects on people or the environment. The
standards of conduct set forth by the code encourage responsible
trade practices and assist countries to establish controls that
regulate the quality and suitability of pesticide products needed in
the country and to address the safe handling and use of such
products. The code of conduct is voluntary, its basic function is as
a point of reference, particularly until such time as countries have
established adequate regulatory infrastructures for pesticides.
The panel is composed of four working groups: the
group on pesticide specifications; the group on registration
requirements; the group on application standards; and the joint
FAO/UNEP group on prior informed consent.
The expert group on pesticide specifications meets
annually to review proposed specifications which have been prepared
through consultations with government scientists, the pesticide
industry through GIFAP and, when appropriate, with individual
manufacturers. By mid-1994, 170 specifications were available. To
facilitate the development and use of these specifications, FAO
published a Manual on the development and use of FAO specifications
for plant protection products. The manual contains detailed
definitions and other background information on basic procedures and
technical principles. It provides advice, instruction and information
to all those involved in the development or application of
specifications for plant protection products.
FAO specifications are published for pesticides
and related formulations with the objective of ensuring, as far as
possible, that the pesticides complying with them are satisfactory
for the purpose for which they are intended. Specifications provide:
a basic standard of quality for the buying and selling of pesticides;
assistance in the official approval and acceptance of pesticides;
assistance to manufacturers in dealing with national and other
specifications; and cover protection for vendors against inferior
products and against the linkage between biological efficacy and
specification requirements.
The FAO specifications for plant protection
products are designed to reflect generally acceptable product
standards. They may be used as an international point of reference
against which products can be judged, either for regulatory purposes
or in commercial dealings, thus helping to prevent trade in inferior
products. They define the essential chemical and physical properties
linked to certain biological requirements for a product and are also
useful references for analysing old products to determine whether
they are still usable. For a list of FAO specifications see Annex 3.
The guidelines provide detailed advice for the preparation of labels and incorporate information on pictograms. They are separated into four sections which:
They also include examples of labels, hazard statements, agricultural practice statements and summaries of specific and generic label contents. Poor labels are a reason for pesticides not being used and becoming obsolete. Compliance with the FAO Guidelines will help avoid this.
The code of conduct does not address the issue
of procurement procedures as such, however, it does make specific
reference to the conditions or factors which must be considered in
tendering, bidding and purchasing of products. The draft guidelines
on tender procedures for the procurement of pesticides attempt to
identify and include certain basic principles and practices that are
of fundamental importance to all procurement operations. They were
developed by a task force and were the subject of a workshop in
Montpellier in April 1994. The guidelines are published as
provisional guidelines and are subject to approval in the near
future.
The objective of the guidelines is to address the
basic principles and practices that should be followed by those
procuring and supplying pesticides and they are designed to ensure
that pesticides obtained are of the quality required, that they are
adequately packaged and labelled and that the cost of the selected
product is justified. Guidelines should be used not only by private
procurers but also, or perhaps mainly, by relevant government
agencies and others concerned and should be acceptable at both the
national and international level.
For copies of Guidelines on tender procedures for
the procurement of pesticides, List of guidelines developed in
support of the FAO code of conduct on the distribution and use of
pesticides and Code on specifications for plant protection products
requests may be sent to the Chief, Plant Protection Service, FAO,
Viale delle Terme di Caracalle, Rome, Italy.
By G.E. Wyrwal, Agricultural Officer (Pesticide Information), Plant Protection Service, AGPP, FAO
Background. A pesticide bank arises out of three main factors:
Modalities of the pesticide bank. The control activities to be carried out by the pesticide bank's national and/or international implementing authority comprise:
Tender procedure. The procedures for tender are as follows:
Problems. The pesticide bank faces the following problems and issues:
Negotiations. The price per unit can be reduced through regular renewal of tender procedure for the pesticide bank. The pesticide bank should not be contracted to just one company; regular tender should continue. Towards the end of the locust plague, there was an indication that:
Advantages of the pesticide bank. A pesticide bank has the following advantages: